The Last To Know
by lilrubydevil
Summary: After being dumped by Mai, Jou and Seto find themselves falling in love with each other. When Seto finally finds the courage to confess, Mai comes back, begging for a 2nd chance. So Jou does, but he can't forget the man he left hanging, the one he loves.
1. Blinded by Love and Lies

Yu-Gi-Oh! is probably the best anime that a freak like me will come to love. However, it's also an anime that I did not have the brains to come up with and therefore, do not own.

* * *

Jou and Mai was a couple, but Mai leaves with Valon, leaving Jou heartbroken and alone. He moves on and realizes that he has feelings for a certain blue eyed CEO. Little by little, Seto and Jou fall in love with each other, but do not admit it out loud. However, Mai comes back, expecting Jou and her to be together. She breaks up whatever Jou and Seto had and persuades Jou to give her a second chance. Jou is confused. He thought he would be thrilled to have Mai back in his life, yet he cannot stop thinking about a person he left hanging. When Seto decides that it hurts him too much, he makes a decision to leave Domino City forever to get over Jou, and to never return. Will Jou realize his feelings for Seto before it's too late?

Slight Yugi and Yami, Bakura and Ryou, Otogi and Honda, and Mai (possibly Anzu) bashing.

Main couple: Seto and Jou

* * *

**The Last to Know**

_Blinded by Love and Lies_

_

* * *

_

"Good job, Jou! You played a great game!"

"Thank God we had you!"

Katsuya Jounouchi grinned as people start to leave the locker room. It was Saturday afternoon, another end to another game. Katsuya was part of the Domino High soccer team. He was the best soccer player on the team. The coach always made sure that he was out on the field, not sitting down on the bench. Other teams winced at the thought of his kick. He was definitely good.

"Bye Jou!"

"See you later!"

Katsuya was his first name. He goes by his last name though, only his sister, Serenity calls him Katsuya. Ah… Serenity. How he missed her. She lived in another city with his mother. His parents were divorced and the two were separated. He was currently living with his father now. His father wasn't that bad; he was a recovering alcoholic and was doing much better than before. He was actually working now, making enough money so Jou had enough time to play on the team instead of having to work 24/7.

Jou was the last one left in the room. He put away the last of his clothes and headed outside. The sun was shining brightly, just like Jou was. He was in a terrific mood. On the benches, he saw that his friends were still there waiting for him. His smile grew wider. He was looking forward to spending the afternoon with them and hanging out by the arcade. He really deserved a break.

From afar, he could make out his shortest and best friend: Yugi Muto. With his spiky red hair and blonde spikes, it was kind of hard not to. Yugi used to be one of the guys Jou would pick on until Jou came to his senses. Now Jou was the one protecting Yugi from the bullies. Normally, people know to back off, but there were some that still needed to learn.

Luckily for Yugi, he also had Yami to protect him. Yami was like Yugi's protector/mother/brother/friend. Jou knew that Yami had a "thing" for Yugi, but Yami was too shy to anything. Yugi, naïve and innocent, had no idea that Yami had these feelings for him. It was pretty obvious, but hey, people were blind.

Sitting next to Yami, was Ryou. He had shoulder length white hair with the biggest chocolate colored eyes you would ever see. He was very quiet, much like Yugi, and used to be picked on. He was the calmest out of everyone and was very optimistic, just like Yugi. He was currently dating Bakura, one of the most popular guys in school.

Bakura was Ryou's boyfriend. He was often looked at as the "tough guy" but at heart, he was a really sweet guy. He was very protective of his lover and will not hesitate to beat you up if he finds you had been flirting with his boyfriend. He had no problem showing people how much he loves Ryou, and was often getting in trouble for too much PDA.

Honda was Jou's best friend after Yugi. Honda and Jou go way back; they had known each other since they were little kids. Honda was very loud and that mouth of his gets him in trouble with the teachers. He was a guy that really wants to be loved by someone. He's jealous of what Bakura and Ryou had and was often searching for "the one". That was probably the reason why he was always keeping an eye out for a hot girl to ask out. (The poor guy keeps getting rejected).

Otogi was the only other guy who owned a game shop other than Yugi. He's a little queer, but wasn't everyone? He had green jaded eyes and you normally knew it was Otogi if he had a dice hanging out of his ear. (Jou had been wondering how he managed to keep that earring on for years.) He played Duel Monster, but preferred to play his own game he had invented earlier on, Dungeon Dice Monsters. Honda considered Otogi his biggest opponent because Otogi had the charms, the looks, and basically everything a girl would want. He was a 'pretty' boy.

"Hey guys!" Jou greeted them cheerfully. "Ready to go?"

Yugi nodded, smiling at his friend. "Are you sure you don't want to wait a while? I mean, you just played a long game and all… surely you are tired…"

That's just like Yugi, always making sure everyone was okay. Jou shook his head. "C'mon, Yugi! You know me! Always energetic for a good game… and some food! But," he paused and looked around, "where is Mai?"

Yami frowned and his face looked as if he wanted to remark about how rude she was, but merely said politely in a neutral tone, "She left."

Mai Valentine was Jou's two month girlfriend. Even though school had just started two months ago, she already had a reputation around school as being a 'slut' and 'the-bitch-that-slept-with-every-guy'. She certainly dressed like one; she could be found wearing a skimpy top and either a really, really short skirt or dead tight jeans with high heeled boots. She was a cheerleader and wasn't very smart. She hangs with the "bad crowd". She skipped school and drank beer and other alcoholic drinks a lot, even though people knew she was not of the proper age. Not surprisingly, Yugi, Yami, Bakura, Ryou, Otogi, and definitely Honda, do not like Mai. She was always off flirting with some football player, leaving Jou hurt and alone while putting on a happy face to cover up his unhappiness and nervousness. However, whenever Mai had no one to talk to (no one she considered popular or good enough for her) she'll come running to Jou in her sweet voice and that got Jou every time. That only happened once a week. She doesn't hang out with him, doesn't talk to him, but she finds the time to talk to all the other guys. Sometimes, people question why Jou won't dump Mai. It's obvious that Mai was using Jou when there was no one else around or if she had no plans for the night. She called Jou her "last minute date" when she had no one else. Yet Jou, being Jou, refused to believe all the rumors and gossips and trusted Mai with all his heart.

"Yeah, with three of the soccer players," Bakura chimed in. "Ow! What was that for?" he exclaimed when Ryou elbows him in the stomach, his attention diverted.

"Man, she said to meet her to go watch a movie too. I guess she forgot…" his voice trailed off and Jou shrugged, pretending he didn't care or mind. "That's Mai, always finding guys to talk to." He laughed weakly as if to prove it didn't bother him, but his friends knew it did.

Honda did not look happy. His eyes were concerned. "Jou, you seriously need to dump that bitch."

Jou stopped laughing and automatically, he went to a defensive and offended tone that he used when arguing with people about Mai. "She's not a bitch, Honda! Leave her alone. She's my girlfriend, okay?"

Silence. Awkward tension in the air. Otogi broke it by coughing. "Let's go grab a bite down at the pizzeria shall we?"

"Yeah!"

"All right, I'm starving!"

As they were walking, a new conversation started. Obviously, they were trying to pretend that the last remark never occurred. Jou looked down at his shoe. "Sorry I snapped at you Honda."

"It's alright, Jou. I'm just concerned."

"Well don't be, okay? Mai just has a lot of friends and a lot of it just happens to be guys."

Honda looked like he wanted to say something else, but he changed his mind at the last minute. In his mind, Jou shouldn't have to justify Mai's behavior.

* * *

"Dang, Jou, you just ate half the pizza!"

"Not my fault you were slow!"

The gang was hanging out down at the pizzeria. Jou had just eaten his twelfth pizza, more than half. It wasn't his fault! He was just very hungry. He reached over for his cup of Coke and takes a long gulp.

Honda opened his mouth to argue back when he was interrupted by a table nearby, laughing out loud. They all turned their attention to the group of people that had just arrived.

It was the cheerleaders, in their usual short skirt and tight white top. They were with the jocks, with one hanging on each arm. Jou did not care about that part, however. He was more concerned with a certain blonde cheerleader kissing and hanging onto another guy.

The table was silent as they all watch them sit down and take their menus to order. Everyone noticed that Mai was acting as if she didn't have a boyfriend by constantly touching the other guy.

Everyone was at first shocked, but soon recovered by feeling a rush of anger, for Jou. Yugi looked down at his pizza, only wishing that nothing like this would have happened. Everybody else at the table remained quiet, unsure of what to say.

Yami was the first to speak. "Jou, I…"

Jou stopped him from talking by talking first. "Guys, it's not big deal! Mai was having a good time and she just lost track of time."

Honda looked straight up mad. This was not the first time Jou had defended Mai and her behavior, and this was practically the last straw. He clenched his first and was ready for an all out war with Jou over Mai again when Ryou stepped in.

Ryou was the least mad at the table besides Jou, who was only hurt by Mai. Normally the peacemaker, he said, "Jou, I think she's having a bit too much fun," as gently as possible. "And Honda, calm down. There is no need to look like you want to kill someone."

"Yeah? Well, I think someone should over to her and give her a shove in the—"

He was interrupted by Mai giggling loudly and screeching, grabbing their attention once more.

Mai looked over and saw Jou for the first time. She said something briefly and climbed out of the booth. She made her way over to their table, moving slowly and dramatically. She put on one of her sweet smiles that gave her an innocent expression and greeted Jou. "Hi Jou!"

Yugi's eyes were full of concern and worry for his friend. Next to him, Yami took Yugi's hand and squeezed it as if to reassure him. Ryou was too busy yelling at Bakura again quietly for suggesting them to "go home and do laundry". Otogi's attention was diverted to the pizza that was left alone. And Honda? He looked more than just a little bit angry.

Jou, who was already hurt by Mai who had ditched him earlier, seemed to brighten up like a Christmas tree at the sound of Mai's voice. "Hey Mai. Looks like you're having fun. I meant to ask, are we still on for tonight? I planned something really special for the two of us..."

Mai shrugged carelessly. "Yeah, about that…"

Jou's face started to look crestfallen. "Busy?" he asked softly, trying his best to hide his hurt feelings.

"Yeah. You know Danny? No wait, of course you don't. Anyways, he has this party going on tonight. It's kind of last minute, he just invited me. I would take you, but you would be in my way and everyone else's way of fun. No offense, you're kind of boring. Oh, but guess what! There is a Jacuzzi, so I need to go shopping for a new bikini. The last one I had some dork spilled soda on it. You understand my problem right? Do you mind?"

"A Jacuzzi?"

Mai stomped her foot impatiently and crossed her arms. "Yeah, weren't you listening? God, Jou, you're so stupid sometimes."

Maybe Jou was able to ignore that cruel remark, but Yugi, ignoring Mai's unkind actions, wasn't. He frowned, clearly not happy and wanted to say something to stick up for his friend, but however, Yugi did not want to be mean no matter who he was talking to (even if it's the queen of mean) so in the nicest voice possible, he said, "Mai, Jou is not stupid, he was merely repeating what you said to clarify your statement. I would really appreciate it if you didn't treat Jou like that."

Mai's eyes glanced over to him, finally realizing Yugi's presence. Her lips curved into a nasty insincere smile. "Well, Yugi, I didn't see you there! I guess you were just a _little_ bit too short. By the way, how _is _your dad doing? Still in the loony bin? Why, I heard the nastiest rumor about it the other day too…"

Yugi's parents were involved in a car crash. His mother, a wonderful, charming lady that was loved and adored by everyone, had died instantly. His father had survived, but had taken a horrible blow to the head, causing him to have problems thinking normally. He was sent to a mental institution in hopes of recovering. That was the reason why Yugi and Yami live with his grandfather. Yugi didn't like to talk about this situation very much because although he liked living with his grandfather, he still missed his father and mother every day.

Instantly, Yugi's big violet eyes were filling up with tears at the mention of his father. Yami glared murderously with hatred, now showing signs of what was obviously deep loathing. "Mai, you better keep that pretty mouth of yours shut if you want to keep it for the party, which I'm sure you'll want to put to use," Yami threatened, practically hissing, his ruby eyes ice cold.

Otogi, who was now aware of a dilemma brewing and everyone's faces, stopped eating for a moment to glare at Mai. "Get lost bitch."

Jou decided it was best to hurry and tell his friends that he really did not care that Mai called him stupid even if he did. "Come on guys, chill! Stop attacking my girlfriend and pretending that I'm not even here!" he exclaimed, anger creeping into his voice. Somehow, he managed to look at Mai with a smile. "It's fine!"

Mai's sweet, angelic smile curved even more if possible. "Thanks honey. Now I better go, they were waiting for me. See you losers later… And oh, Yami? Thanks, I _will_ be using my mouth and I'm so sorry you won't be." Mai sauntered off back to her table and shrieked, "Danny, you bad boy! You better not be getting any from Marie! You are supposed to be mine." Mai sat down next to the lanky guy who was apparently Danny, turned his face towards her, and started to kiss him.

Everyone's mouths dropped in surprise that Mai would go as low as to cheat in front of her boyfriend. They all turn to stare at Jou, wondering what he was going to do. They were still shocked that Jou didn't stand up and defend Yugi, after what was _obviously _a low and horrible comment to make, especially at Yugi. This was the first time Jou was actually watching Mai do something so... so... Mai.

Jou watched this, unaware of his friends' stares. His face was pained, and he felt completely helpless as he could only watch. He knew what everyone thought about his so called girlfriend, yet he always listened to Mai when she said stuff like, "Oh, those were just rumors!" or "Jou, I just had to kiss him for help in science!"

People wondered why Jou won't leave Mai. Why was he still hanging onto a person who clearly doesn't care about him? Why was he still allowing himself to be used and hurt like this?

Jou claimed that Mai truly cared for him. He said that she was the only one who would understand his life and that no one else would. He believed that Mai cared about Jou the way Jou cared about her. He said that everyone had a loving heart on the inside and that he had found that in Mai. Jou knew that Mai might not be what people consider a good girlfriend, but knowing that he could make her happy by not questioning her on her actions or by allowing Mai to treat him the way that she does was enough to satisfy him.

Still… it hurt him.

Jou's stomach did a flip flop and suddenly he's not hungry anymore. He turned away and focused on his drink, trying to avoid feeling his friends' stares.

Being Mai's boyfriend hurt.

* * *

-TBC-

Whee! I'm back with another long term story! So what do you guys think? Do you think I should discontinue it? Does this story seem horrible? Should I even bother posting?

You know I care about what you think. Please, do tell me. :)

-lilrubydevil-


	2. The First of Many Signs to Come

Sadly, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

* * *

Jou and Mai was a couple, but Mai leaves with Valon, leaving Jou heartbroken and alone. He moves on and realizes that he has feelings for a certain blue eyed CEO. Little by little, Seto and Jou fall in love with each other, but do not admit it out loud. However, Mai comes back, expecting Jou and her to be together. She breaks up whatever Jou and Seto had and persuades Jou to give her a second chance. Jou is confused. He thought he would be thrilled to have Mai back in his life, yet he cannot stop thinking about a person he left hanging. When Seto decides that it hurts him too much, he makes a decision to leave Domino City forever to get over Jou, and to never return. Will Jou realize his feelings for Seto before it's too late?

Slight Yugi and Yami, Bakura and Ryou, Otogi and Honda, and Mai (possibly Anzu) bashing.

Main couple: Seto and Jou

* * *

**The Last To Know**

_The First of Many Signs to Come_

_

* * *

_

Jou decided not to go out with his friends to the arcade. No, nothing personal. Just a little preoccupied because of the run in with Mai. It made him feel so uncomfortable to know all his friends were thinking about how much they hated Mai.

Why, exactly, do people hate Mai?

"Bye guys, have fun," Jou said, getting out of the booth.

"I thought we were going to the arcade," Yugi asked, confused at his friend's sudden change of mind.

"Yeah well… change of plans," Jou said in a cheerful voice he didn't feel. "Listen, Yuge, I'm sorry for what Mai said..."

"It's okay Jou," Yugi told him quickly. "Really. I just wish you wouldn't... you know... let her treat you that way all the time."

Jou gave him a sad smile and waved goodbye. He started to walk over to Mai's table first. Her group of friends stopped talking and stared back at him, as if he was some sort of freak. Jou noticed that Mai was still hanging onto that Danny or Daniel or Dan dude.

"Uh… Mai, I'll be going now. If there's a change of plans… well, call me, okay?"

Mai frowned. "Jou, there won't be. I'll see you later."

"Kay. Bye dudes," Jou bid in a happy tone with a fake smile. He could still feel the horrible stares of Yugi and the others. He shrugged it off and walked out of the pizzeria, his heart crashing down like a thousand bricks.

* * *

"Imbeciles! Incompetents! Must I do everything myself?"

Seto Kaiba was not a happy person. Another batch of reports had just managed to be botched up and he had just finished firing every single person responsible. Oh, he was in a murderous mood.

Meet Seto Kaiba, the owner of the infamous toy company, Kaiba Corp. Seto was one of the smartest men in the planet. At the age of three, Seto had learned to read and write. At age ten, he was already doing high school math problems. At his current age, eighteen, he was running a multi billionaire company, and he held over a hundred thousand people's fate in his fingers.

No one knew why he was still in high school. Seto blamed it on the Domino City laws. Does he really need a high school diploma? He was already running a company, didn't that prove he didn't _need _one?

He was a brunette with cold blue eyes and also one of the most wanted bachelor. Already, he had been listed under "25 Teenagers to Die For" under People magazine over twenty times. Looks, money, and intelligence was what he had and basically, he had everything a person could want. Yet, there were two things preventing him from dating. First thing was his company.

Running Kaiba Corp took up most of his time. On weekends, he sleeps until 6:00, 6:30 at the latest. He worked until the wee hours of the morning, sometimes without sleeping. On weekdays, he woke up at 5:30 to get ready for school and worked until 7:00 A.M. After school, he goes to his office and worked some more. He always came home in time for dinner with his younger brother Mokuba. After an hour or so, Mokua would go back in his room to play video games and he would retreat back to his room and work even more.

His room was an office too.

Simply put, he's a workaholic.

Whatever time he had left over was spent bonding with Mokuba. Despite what countless magazine gossips said, he had no time for dating and _love_, whatever _that _was.

What other thing was stopping Seto from dating? Oh yeah, Seto Kaiba.

Born and left alone without parents, Seto and Mokuba had always been on their own. They were adopted by a man named Gozaburo Kaiba. He was a cruel man who pushed them further than they could go. He treated them with harshness and cruelty that led Seto to believe emotions were useless and not supposed to exist. Seto had been void of emotions ever since Gozaburo came into his life and Gozaburo did not allow himself to open up to another person. He was raised to believe that emotions were a waste of time and energy and that love was purely stupid. He never really smiled or found anything worth smiling over. The only person he cared for and will do anything and everything for was Mokuba.

That Saturday afternoon, he was cooped up in his office working away, as usual. Today had been extremely stressful; two meetings, tons of paperwork, and twenty workers short, due to the fact they had messed up again, so Seto fired them.

He sat down, frustrated. He had spent the last thirty minutes yelling on the phone, trying to get his problems solved. He was tired and exhausted. He needed a break. He looked over to the window and stared at the scenery. Being on the seventy seventh floor did give him an incredible view of Domino City. He nearly smiled when he saw a group of children on the playground across the street. He always had a soft spot when it came to young kids.

His eyes trailed to a young man walking down the street. Seto could tell who he was. Blonde messy hair, sort of lanky. No doubt, it was Jou.

His lips curved into a smirk. Everyone in school knew who Jou was. Boyfriend of the biggest slut in school. What was her name again? Oh right, Mai. Mai wasn't a person that goes unnoticed. She'll make sure she was noticed, or she would die trying. Hell, she even tried to get Seto to go out with him, flirting and bugging him constantly even when she was dating Jou. Needless to say, Seto gave her one of the coldest looks and she hadn't bothered him since.

"Jou, Jou, Jou… hmm, I do wonder…" he said out loud. To him, Jou was a pure mystery. Sure, he looked happy and open all the time when he was with his friends, and even in the little time he had with that so called _girlfriend _of his. Yet, being Seto Kaiba, he had been trained to feel and see some things that no one else could and he could sense that there was more to him than meets the eye.

* * *

"Kaiba is so lucky."

Jou took a moment to pause and look at the tall, shiny building with a "KC" on the center. It was a wonder how Seto—being only eighteen—could manage to run a rich company, go to school, get good grades without really trying, take care of his twelve year old brother, and still not collapse under the pressure. Jou would definitely.

In his mind, Seto was the luckiest guy alive. He had the money, he had the family, and he had _everything_, except maybe feelings. But then again, Seto liked it that way. Although he never said much, anyone could tell that Seto didn't want anyone around. He never said anything, but people knew to stay away from him. It was like a silent rule, never made to broken unless you want to be burned.

Jou brushed his hair back from his face, only to feel his hair rebel and go back to the way it was. Besides the money, Seto had _the _looks. Seriously, this guy looked like a movie star, only better looking. He had many fan clubs at school run by both guys and girls. It is amazing how he is still single.

He had tried to get along with Seto in the past, with an occasional "hi" or "bye". Seto never really responded, probably too busy with his laptop. (Seriously, this guy brought his laptop to school to work, even outside of Kaiba Corp).

Jou wondered every now and then why Seto didn't welcome any friends or acquaintances. He could easily be popular without really trying, but he doesn't want to be. Maybe he had his own reasons against being popular. Who knew?

He would never admit this out loud, but Jou really wanted to be his friend. Kaiba seemed so lonely at times. Jou knew how that felt. He had seen the way Seto treated Mokuba with such love and care. It was very rare to see that part of Seto, but Jou had been one of the few lucky ones to have seen it. Sometimes, he wondered how it would feel to be treated that way.

Jou shook his head and resumed walking home. Why was he thinking about Seto, anyway?

* * *

The party was a blast, everyone knew about it. By the time Jou got to school on Monday after surviving another lonely Sunday, people started to talk about the keg, the fun, the sex, and of course, Mai.

From across the hallway, Jou could see Mai—barely. As usual, she was surrounded by her friends, most of them guys. He could join them, but the conversation would stop automatically. Mai had never been the first to say hello and she had made it clear she didn't want Jou around her friends. Jou sighed.

"Could you please move out of the way?"

Jou blinked at the sound of Seto Kaiba's impatient voice. He moved to the side and somehow managed to mumble, "Sorry," before he left.

_Dang, that guy was fast._ He should be in track.

He was still watching Seto walk away, with his white trench coat trailing behind him. From the back he looks _good_.

"Yo, Jou! Are you in?"

Honday waves his hand near his face with a look of curiosity in his eyes. "We have to get to class!" he told him, just as the bell rung and everyone stopped talking in order to start rushing into classrooms.

"Oh yeah," Jou finally commented, remembering. Thoughts of Mai and Seto had made him forget what he was supposed to do.

Honda rolled his eyes and started to drag Jou forward. "You seriously need to stop drooling over Kaiba."

"What!"

"Yeah. Seriously, he's hot and all but…"

"Honda? Shut up."

* * *

The teacher merely glared at them when they both walked in. Jou and Honda grinned sheepishly, glad they weren't going to get a detention. Jou's eyes glanced over at Mai, who was talking to a guy with spiky brown hair. He had seen him around school, but never really found out who he was. He must have been new, because he certainly wasn't around last year.

He walked to his seat, which was right next to Seto Kaiba. He sometimes hated the alphabetical seating. He never got a chance to talk to Yugi or Ryou. Then again, Yami and Yugi were always talking and Ryou and Bakura were always flirting, so it's just as well.

He took his seat. Not surprisingly, Seto didn't even notice Jou. He was too busy typing on his laptop, his eyes focused on the screen.

The teacher, Mr. Tokiyama, also known as "Tomato Head", stood up and started yapping about something in the 1800s. Jou tried to pay attention, but it just wasn't working. His eyes were starting to droop already due to the fact that he only had six hours of sleep last night—too much caffeine—and plus, he already knew all this stuff.

Trusting that Mr. Tomato Head wouldn't notice, Jou slid back in his seat and gently laid his head on the cold, hard desk. He closed his eyes and was ready to drift off when…

"Ow!"

Jou's head shot up when he felt someone poke him hard on the side. He turned his head and glared at Seto, who had put his laptop aside and was now writing on a piece of notebook paper. He was curious as to why he had stopped typing on his laptop, but ignored this curiosity and asked instead, "What was that for?"

"In case you haven't noticed," Seto answered back, his voice smooth and cool, "he's giving us a pop quiz on the board." He was still writing and he didn't even bother to look at Jou when he advised Jou, "You might want to start writing."

Jou glanced at the board and saw Tomato Head writing questions and in the center, he had written in big block letters, "POP QUIZ, CHAPTER 12". Hastily, he reached for his binder and took out a piece of paper. Luckily, he had read the previous chapter earlier on in the week and knows most of the answers.

"Thanks Kaiba," Jou told Seto in a grateful tone, while searching for a pen he thought he had brought to class.

Seto didn't bother to answer.

* * *

-TBC-

It's always helpful to give a gal a little bit support, eh? I still want to hear what you think and it means a lot when I do. :)

-lilrubydevil-


	3. Running and Leaving

Did you know I own Yu-Gi-Oh? Yeah! I just won the lottery and I had a million dollars and—wait, that was in a dream. Never mind, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

* * *

Jou and Mai was a couple, but Mai leaves with Varon, leaving Jou heartbroken and alone. He moves on and realizes that he had feelings for a certain blue eyed CEO. Little by little, Seto and Jou fall in love with each other, but do not admit it out loud. However, Mai comes back, expecting Jou and her to be together. She breaks up whatever Jou and Seto had and persuades Jou to give her a second chance. Jou was confused. He thought he would be thrilled to had Mai back in his life, yet he cannot stop thinking about a person he left hanging. When Seto decides that it hurts him too much, he makes a decision to leave Domino City forever to get over Jou, and to never return. Will Jou realize his feelings for Seto before it's too late?

Slight Yugi and Yami, Bakura and Ryou, Otogi and Honda, and Mai (possibly Anzu) bashing.

Main couple: Seto and Jou

* * *

**The Last to Know**

_Running and Leaving_

_

* * *

_

The bell rung loudly, relieving Jou of his boredom. After the pop quiz, all they had to do was go over the answers and check. (Yes, it took thirty minutes because some people were stupid and kept asking the same questions over and over). Jou easily made an A. History was easy; it was nothing but memorization.

Besides soccer and hanging out with his best buddies, Jou didn't anything else really except study. He was pretty smart. Not Seto smart where no studying was required to make A's, but he was smart. He just needed to work at it harder than others. He was in all the honor classes except for history (history was pretty much the same regardless). He only had the first period with Honda and Otogi, three classes with Bakura and Ryou, and all classes with Yugi and Yami. Oh, and of course, Seto.

Jou packed his bag hastily while watching the door where Yami and Yugi were waiting. Yami was busy whispering in Yugi's ear, making him laugh and smile. Jou felt his heart ache with jealousy. It was obvious what Yami's and Yugi's feelings were for each other, even if they did not admit it. They were not dating (yet), but they were acting like two people in love. It was easy to mistaken them for a couple if you didn't know them.

No one who didn't know them would ever think Mai and Jou were together.

Jou quickly brushed off his negative thoughts and slowly walked over to them, giving them both a chance to flirt and talk some more without any interruptions. Whatever Yami was telling Yugi must be good because Yugi was grinning like a child with lots of candy.

The class was pretty empty now. Only the teacher and a handful of students were still inside. Normally, Jou, Yugi, and Yami waited in the room for the crowd outside to slow down before exiting to get to their next class: chemistry.

Jou finally got to them, interrupting whatever they were talking about. Yami gave Jou a small smile while Yugi flashed him his normally big ones and said, "Hey Jou!" They didn't get a chance to talk earlier, due to the fact that Jou was late.

He opened his mouth to respond, but then Yami found something else to whisper about in his ear, distracting Yugi away from Jou. (Jou knew that Yami did not do this intentionally.) Behind them, there was a group of giggling girls, laughing and pointing at Seto typing on his portable computer. (Another fan club. Jou suspected that they called themselves the KKK—Seto's Kissing Klick. Jou wondered if they knew how to spell "click" correctly) Yes, as soon as the pop quiz was over, Seto had automatically resumed typing on his laptop, sometimes pausing to get something from his briefcase.

Jou looked over at Seto, admiring the way his caramel hair was shining in the sunlight because he sat next to the window. His hair looked so darn _hot_. Actually, he looked hot. Period.

"Jou? Jou?"

Jou snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Yugi and Yami, who were obviously done talking. They were staring back at him with curious eyes, glancing back at forth between Jou and Seto. "Oh sorry, I keep zoning out for some reason," Jou apologized, smiling sheepishly. "It's one of those days."

Yugi nodded understandably. Yami's lips curve into a smirk and commented, "It's okay. Seto _does _look good."

"What!"

"Come on, we had to go to class," Yami old them both before Jou could really react, beckoning his head to the door.

That was true. The crowd was dying down and the bell was going to ring in about five minutes to signal the start of class. Even Seto, workaholic and all, was packing up to head onto the next class, which meant they should really start moving.

"Yeah let's go," Jou agreed as Seto walked past them. Jou decided to let Yami off the hook for insinuating that Jou had a crush on Seto. He chose to ignore Yugi's knowing grin that mirrored and resembled Yami's as well.

Everyone at school knew about his so called "relationship" with Mai. But very few people knew—only his friends knew—that Jou was, indeed, bisexual.

Jou was clearly interested in girls (hence, Mai) but there had been a few times when Jou had looked at guys and just thought, "Whoa". Seto Kaiba was one of them, the hottest one so far.

Like he had mentioned before, none of his friends like Mai, which was why they would rather had him like Seto. To them, Seto was the much better choice and better dating material, despite the fact that he was cold and silent. They seemed to prefer that over a person who… well, Mai. But even though Jou had the smallest, slightest crush on Seto, it was Mai that he was interested in the most.

…even though Mai cared _so_ much.

They continued to walk, Jou in his head thinking and Yugi and Yami chatting—okay, Yami was flirting—quietly. Jou knew he could join them and their conversation, but chose not to. Yami had told him secretly that he will tell Yugi any day now how he feels. Then again, Yami also said that two months ago.

Jou accidentally let them walk too ahead of him, not really aware or paying attention. He was trying to fight against the evil, horrible powers of sleep. Man, he shouldn't had stayed up reading his comic book.

BAM!

…Jou flied backward and landed on his bottom…

"Sorry mate, are you all right?" asked an Australian accented voice. The person who bumped into him stretched his hand out to pull Jou up from the floor. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Jou took his hand and got up. He recognized this guy. He was the new transfer student, the one who was talking to Mai earlier at history. Up close, Jou could see that he was a very handsome guy too. "It's all right," he mumbled, dusting himself off. He flashed him a weak grin and started to walk away to catch up with Yugi and Yami, who were waiting for them. They had just noticed Jou had fallen behind.

"Will you hold up for a second? You're Jou, right?" the foreigner spoke, putting his hand on Jou's arm, stopping him from moving. Jou waved to Yami and Yugi to go ahead without him. He had time; the teacher was always late anyway.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

The guy cocked his head to the side. "I'm Varon. I just got moved to this school recently. I noticed you around, you're in my history class." He retracted his hand back.

Dang, that accent was really thick. "Okay…" What did he want with him? "Err… not to be impolite, but class is going to start soon and I don't want to get detention so…"

"Oh, sorry. I just want to talk to you. Mai is your girlfriend right?"

"Yes."

Varon's eyebrow shot up. His baby blue eyes look questionable. "Mai kissed me last night."

Jou eyes widened. He was very aware of Mai's tendency to a bit flirt, but this was the first time the guy actually came up to tell him, instead of letting Jou find out through rumors and gossips. "…oh really?" he replied intelligently, thoughts of class and being late flying out of his mind.

"We've been friends for a while now, me and Mai. I was going to ask her out, but then I heard a few people say she was already taken."

Jou remained silent as he felt his heart drop. The more this guy told him about Mai, the more miserable he got. He didn't like where this was going. He could only stare back at Varon, stunned and speechless.

"Listen mate," Varon continued on, not knowing what Jou was thinking, "I'm not the type of person to get in the way of relationships. I just thought you would want to know, from me, I mean. You know how bloody talkative people get in high school."

"Thanks… I think…" Jou let him know glumly.

"But…" he paused and looked straight into Jou's eyes with lots of intensity. "I _really_ like her. I talked to her about it, about my feelings for her. And she's made it pretty clear she feels the same way I do, mate." He stopped when he saw Jou look just a _tad_ bit upset. He continued on. "I was also worried that she had feelings for you so I asked her about it. She assured me that she didn't like you and then she told me she's going to break up with you soon too, you know, to be with me. Just a little…" he laughed nervously and embarrassedly, "heads up I suppose… I really hope you don't hate me, I would really like to be friends. That's why I'm telling you this first, so you don't hear it from someone else. I didn't mean to get in the way, honestly. It just happened."

Jou somehow managed to force himself to smile and nod his head as if to show Varon he understood.

"Look, like I said before," his accent sounded so much accented now for some reason in Jou's opinion, "I'm not the type to get into people's relationships and mess with them. I would never had even gotten involved if Mai hadn't kissed me or if I knew that you and her were together. But you know… things happen and she's just… _amazing_."

Jou's smile felt pasted on, ready to come off at any minute now, and it was true. Any second now, his smile just might go away and he might punch this guy if he didn't stop talking about how amazing _his_ girlfriend was and how _amazing_ she was. Did Varon think that he was some sort of idiot? That he didn't already _know_ all of those things?

"But… I'm sorry. I truly am. Is there something I can do to make it up to you, perhaps?"

"Heh… no, it's okay, you've done _enough _already. Now, I really have to get to class. Nice to meet you Varon." Varon nodded, and hurried towards his class. Jou waved goodbye and started to run down the hall, as if to show he really needed to be in class.

The bell rung and he was now officially late. Jou knew he should probably get to class, even it meant getting detention. His running came to a stop and he leaned against the lockers that were nearby. In rage, he punched it, with all his strength, frustrated and feeling embarrassed, humiliated, angry.

Maybe he should get to class soon, but he didn't want to. The words kept playing in his mind. _Break up soon… break up soon…_ like a horrible broken record playing over and over.

Instead of turning left as he should of, he turned right and pushed the door wide open to exit the school, running away.

* * *

"This test will be worth twenty percent of your final average and will…"

Ring. Ring.

The teacher stopped to glare at the class, trying to figure out whose cell phone would dare ring in class.

Seto, still typing his report, put one hand inside his pocket and took out a cell phone. With one flick of motion, he flipped open the phone and answered it. (He had mastered this, having been doing this for about four years.) "Kaiba here."

The teacher saw Seto on the phone. She frowned, clearly upset that a student—even if it's Seto Kaiba—would talk and interrupt the class. She resumed talking, trying to get the class's attention again by speaking louder. Seto did not speak, only he only listened. After a few moments or so, he packed up his laptop and stood up.

If it was anyone else other than Seto Kaiba, the student would have had the cell phone taken away and would have been given a detention session. But, Seto Kaiba was different. He funded more than half the facilities at school and to have him get into trouble would mean cutting off the support from Kaiba Corp and that would leave the school with barely any equipment.

"I need to leave the class."

The teacher gave him an annoyed look, really annoyed now that this was the second time she got interrupted by him in five minutes, but nodded regardless, just as Seto thought she would. He hurried out of the classroom with his briefcase, aware of the stares cast his way.

The call had been from Kaiba Corp. Apparently his so called professional employees had messed up again and Seto needed to fix it.

He scowled as he pushed the door and exited out of the school. He got into his forty thousand dollar car, placed his case on the passenger's seat, started the ignition, and he started to drive.

By the time he had finally reached Kaiba Corp and was getting out of the car, his phone rang again. In a bad mood, he picked it up and growled as a greeting, "This better be good."

He listened, his eyes narrowing. Then he shouted, "You mean to tell me I drove all this way for nothing!" in such a voice that scared the passing people who was walking by so much, they start to walk faster to get away from the enraged Seto.

In a calm, gentle, almost scary voice, he told the poor guy who had unluckily lost to a paper-scissors-rock game and was forced to call, "I'll be there to fire all of you soon enough." He hung up without a further word to say.

He could walk inside and fire all of them right now, but he decided to prolong their misery until the end of the day and THEN fire them. Let them sit around worrying and sweating in their clothes, they should had known better than to call him unless he was really needed. Served them right.

He checked his clock. It was halfway through third period already. No point in trying to drive back with the lunch traffic and everything. If he was lucky, he would get back in time for sixth period.

"Stupid idiots, get me out here for no reason," he muttered under his breath.

He looked around his surroundings. He might as well try to get some work down. He could go to his office but… nah… another option was to stay in his car and work. That wasn't that enticing either, considering how cramped the car was.

Seto's blue eyes were soon lured to the playground across the street. It was a beautiful, gorgeous day. Blue sky, shining sun, barely any clouds in sight… the playground seemed to be calling him, trying to get him over there.

A wave of jealous shot through Seto's veins. How he hated Gozaburo. He died nearly six years ago, yet the burning hatred was still there, growing and growing rapidly everyday. His childhood taken from him, leaving him not able to experience what regular kids got to do and feel. Locked away, never knowing how the world really was as a kid.

It faded as quickly as it had come. Seto relaxed and unclenched his fist he didn't realize he had clenched. It didn't matter, not anymore at least. As long as Mokuba was okay and as long as he still had his childhood…

Seto reached inside his car and grabbed his laptop. He may never be able to change the past and would never be able to get his childhood back, but he could try to make up for it. The day was beautiful. And just the sight of the playground was magnificent. It wasn't often that he had the chance to actually be out here in the sun. The last time he had been at a park had been about ten years ago.

He was going to enjoy this day.

* * *

-TBC-

Finally, Varon enters the scene! -starts dancing- I absolutely love Varon, he is a very awesome character :) I only wish he wasn't just in ONE season, but oh well...

Thank you to whoever pointed out that Varon was from Australia instead of Britain.

Anyways, comments are always wanted, appreciated, etc.

-lilrubydevil-


	4. Strangers Meet Once Upon a Time

Yeah, you heard this before. I don't own Yugioh :(

* * *

Jou and Mai was a couple, but Mai leaves with Varon, leaving Jou heartbroken and alone. He moves on and realizes that he had feelings for a certain blue eyed CEO. Little by little, Seto and Jou fall in love with each other, but do not admit it out loud. However, Mai comes back, expecting Jou and her to be together. She breaks up whatever Jou and Seto had and persuades Jou to give her a second chance. Jou was confused. He thought he would be thrilled to had Mai back in his life, yet he couldnot stop thinking about a person he left hanging. When Seto decides that it hurts him too much, he makes a decision to leave Domino City forever to get over Jou, and to never return. Will Jou realize his feelings for Seto before it's too late?

Slight Yugi and Yami, Bakura and Ryou, Otogi and Honda, and Mai (possibly Anzu) bashing.

Main couple: Seto and Jou

* * *

**The Last to Know**

_Strangers Meet Once Upon a Time_

_

* * *

_

When Jou had ran out, he just started to run, not really paying attention to where he was heading. Not knowingly, he had reached the park near Kaiba Corp. Guess he had ran a little further than he had wanted.

His running came to a stop. He didn't really had a particular place to be—well besides school—and he didn't really want to go anywhere farther away from school as he already was. The wind blew just that moment, and Jou took it as a sign. He could not walk away from the temptation.

He found a nice little tree, a little bit beyond the park, but still close by. It was big and shady, yet not shady enough to block the sun entirely. That was just perfect; Jou had found his spot.

He wasn't going to go back to school, that's for sure. When Varon had approached him and told him, that was the last thing he had expected to hear. Somehow, it had ended up being the most _painful_ thing to hear.

Reality had hit him harder than he had thought it would. He had always known that Mai didn't care about this relationship as much as he did. But for her to deny it completely? And for her to just break it off—that was something he couldn't bear.

The others were going to be dead worried. It wasn't like Jou to skip school. Maybe back in the old days when he was in a gang and didn't care about his grades, but not now when he finally changed his ways.

Jou could just imagine what Yugi would had to say.

He could read his science textbook that he had brought with him when he ran out of school due to the fact that he didn't had enough time to go to his locker. He could try, but his concentration was shot. All he could think about was Mai and Varon.

_Mai and Varon. Mai and Varon._

Seriously, after all they've been through?

Jou lets out a sigh. It's obvious what Mai's intentions were. Then again, it's always been obvious. Maybe Jou had been ignoring all the signs all along. Perhaps he had been refusing to listen to his friends' warnings and comments about it. And possibly, maybe his friends had been right all along.

He closed his eyes, leaning against the tree. It had been a good idea to come here. It was so peaceful, so private, and so quiet. No one could disturb him. All the little kids normally occupying this area were at school learning about the ABC's and all the high school students were at high school, like _he _should be.

He wished his world, his reality, his problems were as peaceful as this place was.

_I really like it here…_

_

* * *

_

His eyes were closed, his legs stretched out in front of him. Beside him lay a textbook but that was being ignored. A gentle breeze passed, waving and moving his hair wistfully. He looked so serene, so calm, yet his face was a look of pure sadness and troubled thoughts.

Even through Seto's mind, he had to admit, Jounouchi looked beautiful. Not cute. Not pretty. But beautiful.

Beautiful was a word that he never ever used. Sometimes, he used "cute" to describe children running around. On weird days, he would comment that the girl was "pretty" just to satisfy Mokuba whenever he pointed a "girl he could ask out" to him.

But never beautiful. Beautiful was a word he reserved for…

Jounouchi.

It was a word not to be used the wrong way or used to often. It was a special word to him, one that was the highest compliment an individual could give about another person's appearance. Beautiful was such a sophisticated word that shouldn't be used that often and should only be used for special occasions.

That's what he thought anyway.

Of course, he would rather eat slugs than to admit this so any live human being. Or dead human being. They would probably revive from the dead just to listen to him, tell everyone about it, and then die again. Yeah, that's probably what they would do.

Was it weird that Seto didn't trust anyone—not even the dead, who was no longer breathing or alive in this world? Not really. Seto didn't even trust a dog who lacked the abilities to talk.

Seto could not help but wonder why the blonde was here. He was not the type of person to skip half a day of school without there actually being an emergency like a relative dying. He was the person that normally tried to get perfect attendance. His idiotic friend Honda might be, or that ho Mai which she did every other day, but not Jou.

His footsteps must have made too much noise because in a second, Jou's beautiful state was gone, destroyed and shattered, and his eyes opened and saw him. His mouth opened in surprise. He threw him a confused look and asked, "Kaiba? What were you doing here?"

It was a good thing Seto wasn't sensitive of else he would feel insulted, judging the tone of voice he used. "I could ask you the same question," he answered back in that cool, smooth voice of his. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

Jou looked like he was going to reply, but Seto cut him off. "If you prefer," Seto offered in a neutral voice, "I'll leave." School was fine place to work, it's not like the teachers would dare bother him.

Seto took his silence as a yes and turned to walk away when he heard Jou speak up.

"No, I would really like it if you stayed."

Appalled, Seto turned around to see Jou smiling faintly at him, his eyes open and friendly. His natural instinct was to suspect that he wanted something from him, but staring in Jou's honey colored eyes, he relaxed. Something about Jou gave him a _good_ feeling. Kind of like the feeling he got with Mokuba. You don't know why, but you just feel it anyway without any real reason.

Seto didn't get that feeling with that many people. Only Mokuba and _maybe _Jounouchi.

Seto almost smiled—almost, came really close—but not quite. He strolled over and took a seat next to Jou up against the tree. He paused and put his hand on the briefcase, but did not take his laptop out.

It was very and extremely rare, but Seto was feeling lazy.

"Don't want to work?"

Seto was startled by Jou's sudden attempt to hold a conversation. Seto was planning to ignore him, but Jou looked so darn happy, it was probably not a good idea.

Besides, it would be very rude if Seto did.

"I suppose."

Jou nodded understandably. "Why are you here?" he asked him in a casual tone, still trying to keep the flow going.

Seto scowled at the thought of his useless workers and decided to dock them twenty dollars to make them believe that they're not going to get fired _and then _fire them. That would help prolong their misery a little bit longer. "My employees at Kaiba Corp needed me, but changed their mind at the last minute. Going back to school would be pointless, due to the rush hour traffic."

"Must be stressful."

"Yes." Pause. "What were you doing here?"

"It's a long story."

"I have time. So do you actually. It's not as if we'll be leaving anytime soon."

Jou cast a curious look at Seto, a questioning smile crawled onto his face. "Never thought you would be interested in my pathetic life, Kaiba."

"I'm not. I'm just finding a way to procrastinate and to put off my work," Seto shot back, sounding as if he could care less about his life.

The corners of his lips started to twitch as if Jou was fighting back an even bigger grin. "A typical Kaiba answer. Why am I not surprised?"

Seto arched his eyebrow. "Still, you didn't answer my question as to why you are here."

Jou's eyes lost the happy glow that was shining just a second ago. They now looked troubled and disheartened.

"I was running away."

* * *

Seto's eyes flickered slightly in surprise, but did not speak. Jou took in a deep breath, held it in, and then let it go gradually.

Jou took his silence as his respond and continued on. "I just felt like… I needed to get out of there, out of the school, you know? I just… couldn't deal with it today."

Jou rest his head back on the tree, enjoying the breeze of wind. He watched the clouds dancing merrily in the sky, and smiled, enjoying the sight he was seeing.

"Why?"

Seto's voice snapped his attention back to him, forgetting about the sky and losing the smile. Why? What did he mean _why_? Why would he care? And why was Jou going to explain it to him?

"Because… I just realized that Mai didn't care."

Jou turned his head, trying to avoid Seto's reaction. He could avoid seeing the smirk and teasing smile on his face, but he did not know how to escape his sarcastic remarks. He did not expect Seto to care enough about it to be sympathetic about his problems. This was Seto after all, the most cold hearted person in all of Domino City.

Jou laughed weakly, thinking about the situation. Here he was, skipping school to hang out with Seto Kaiba, the person he had known about three years but had never said two words to him. Okay, maybe one, but no more. And he was confiding in _him_. Not Yugi, not Honda, not even Ryou, but _Seto Kaiba_.

"I'm… sorry to have told you that," Jou hurried to apologize, looking sheepish, "I don't know why I did, I'm sorry to had dumped my stupid problem onto you… I know you're busy and all…"

"What happened?"

Seto gave Jou what seemed to be like a face that wanted to listen and… that might understand. It wasn't a face you see on Seto Kaiba's face often. It was one of those rare and special face he gives Mokuba… the good ones that Jou imagined being looked at… the one that he wished he could see more often… the gentle side of him…

* * *

-TBC-

Fourth chapter done! Yay, yay! Seto and Jou moments! I'm so darn proud of myself, I did this all during math class while I was supposed to be paying attention! Oops, did I say that? Heh, ignore that Mr. Johnson! (Psh, like he'll actually come to my account)

Anyway… YAY, YAY! I updated… after what seemed like forever… (I know, I know, I'm a loser…) But I figured this story isn't all that important so I just thought I'll procrastinate a little bit… heh… the procrastinator… I am…

Review or else I'll send you all death glares through my computer. (glares)

-lilrubydevil-


	5. Confessions Between Strangers

I will never own Yu-Gi-Oh, so leave me alone. Seriously.

* * *

Jou and Mai is a couple, but Mai leaves with Varon, leaving Jou heartbroken and alone. He moves on and realizes that he has feelings for a certain blue eyed CEO. Little by little, Seto and Jou fall in love with each other, but do not admit it out loud. However, Mai comes back, expecting Jou and her to be together. She breaks up whatever Jou and Seto had and persuades Jou to give her a second chance. Jou is confused. He thought he would be thrilled to have Mai back in his life, yet he cannot stop thinking about a person he left hanging. When Seto decides that it hurts him too much, he makes a decision to leave Domino City forever to get over Jou, and to never return. Will Jou realize his feelings for Seto before it's too late?

Slight Yugi and Yami, Bakura and Ryou, Otogi and Honda, and Mai (possibly Anzu) bashing.

Main couple: Seto and Jou

* * *

**The Last to Know**

_Confessions between Strangers_

_

* * *

_

"This guy, Varon, he's a friend of Mai's," Jou paused, thinking of what to say next. "Actually, more than a friend." Then Jou does the unthinkable and started to snicker at himself. He started off quietly, but started to grow louder and louder, bitterness lurking around each cackle. "Apparently, Mai's going to break up with me to be with him. He told me they already kissed."

"Jou..." Seto started off, his voice sounding patient and quiet. His tone was thoughtful as he continued. "Why do you care about Mai so much? You're not a stupid guy, you know Mai doesn't give a shit about you. You still hang onto her. May I ask why?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Jou saw Seto gazing at his own face intently and barely blinking, awaiting his response. Jou almost flushed a dark red color, feeling quite uncomfortable at being the target of one of Seto Kaiba's most intense stares.

"She saved my sister's life."

In that one sentence alone, Jou had now opened up to Seto. No one ever knew—that Mai had done such a thing, nor will anyone find out because Jou never seemed to want to talk about it. He had no idea why he started talking about it now. Perhaps he got caught up in the entire scenario being with Seto Kaiba, or maybe because he wanted to let at least _one _person know that Mai was good person. .

This had been a secret between Mai and Jou for two years. It was a very painful subject for Jou to talk about without getting that scary feeling in his stomach because he didn't like to think about losing Shizuka.

"That's how we first met," Jou explained, to clarify some of the confusion. "We met through Shizuka. Shizuka's the closet thing to family and to a sister back then for her. That was before my parents got divorced last year right before summer started and before Shizuka moved to live with our mom. They were taking an aerobics class together and got close pretty quickly. One night, they were at a party and while they leaving, they got into a car accident."

Seto slowly nodded, urging Jou not to stop and to continue on. Jou's mind flied back to that horrendous memory and could feel that horrid feeling of dread return. He tried his best to ignore it.

"Mai was injured, but despite that, she still managed to get Serenity out of the car, whose head was bleeding. She was unconscious and there was no way she could have gotten out of the car if it weren't for Mai before it went up in flames. When I got to the hospital, all Mai could think about was whether or not Shizuka was going to pull through. She was in surgery, and it was a pretty bad situation. Mai was crying and shivering, and she was more worried than I was because Shizuka was all she had. She kept saying how sorry she was and how she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if something happened. She was crying on my shoulder the while time. I had never seen her like that. I found myself worrying about her as much as I was worried about Shizuka."

Jou sighed, unsure of what to say next. "She was in a coma later and everyday, Mai and I would come and visit her, just to be near her. That was a major comfort to us. We soon started to talk, a lot. We grew closer and closer during the summer, even when Shizuka recovered and left. We stayed in contact throughout June and July, although she was vacationing in the United States." Jou stopped to take a breath and stared at Seto with a serious expression. He rushed to continue.

"She wasn't always like this, you know. She wasn't always out partying, drinking, and skipping school. She used to be this total sweetheart, the straight A's student. She would never drink or touch drugs back then but when she went to the US... I don't know. She was still the girl I met... she was still the girl that I had learned to like and care for. When she came back..." his voice trailed off, leaving a moment of silence. "Before, she had asked me to giver ha chance, with her, to see if there was a chance between us. I told her I would and that I would try my best to keep us together so that we could keep our friendship even if it didn't work out. Right now.. I just don't know what changed or what happened to that girl I met."

Jou started to brush off a bug that had landed on his jeans, not knowing what to say next and awaiting the CEO's answer, wondering if he would even understand.

* * *

Yes, Seto Kaiba was a genius. There was not a single person who would say he wasn't. He was known for having the highest grades in Domino High ever since the school started (fifteen years ago) and the highest IQ ever known in Domino City. he was smart enough to own a huge company by himself without any help and he was smart enough to support himself and Mokuba even after his stepfather died.

Yet, Seto's brain was not capable of coming up wiht an answer or some sort of response for Jou. He kept thinking of words he could string together, yet found himself for the first time possible, lost at words.

As if reading his mind, Jou's eye shifted over to him, a smile soon forming. "It's okay; you don't have to say anything."

"I don't?"

"Yeah. It's all right. My sob story is stupid anyway. The only thing I really expect you to say is probably your usual 'Whatever', right?"

Jou didn't mean to offend him by saying that, but Seto felt a bit hurt to hear him say that, like he wasn't capable of offering words of sympathy. Seto recovered and cleared his throat. "There's not much to say. People change over time, we all know that. It's time to start living in the present in the past. You know you deserve much better."

"I do?"

"Don't sound so surprised. Yes, you do." Seto meant it too and was annoyed that the blonde didn't think he did. Based on rumors and the actions he saw with his own two eyes, Mai was not capable of being anybody's girlfriend, especially someone like Jou.

He had to admit that Jou and his friends did get on his nerves every now and then, but with Jou, he felt a connection. Perhaps it was the fact that they both had younger siblings they would do anything for, their intelligence, or their stubbornness that never allowed them to back down from a challenge or a promise.

Sometimes, Seto would find himself looking at Jou and feeling jealous; jealous of his ability to smile and cheer despite the disappointing odds and circumstances, jealous of his carefree personality, jealous of how he was with people... Seto could go on forever about how many qualities Jou had that he wanted.

"You just need to break up with her," Seto said casually, as if the answer was obvious. "Forget about her. You'll find someone much better."

For someone with a grade point average of 4.125, Jou was pretty stupid sometimes. His eyes widened and made Seto think of two golf balls. His mouth dropped open as if he had just seen a pig talk.

"What!" was the only thing Jou could manage to say.

Funny. Seto thought Jou always had a huge range of vocabulary.

"Yes, you heard me right. It's not that much of a surprising suggestion you know," he remarked, taking a leaf off his lap while looking at Jou's facial expression from the corner of his blue eye.

Jou's shoulders slouched a bit more and he pulled his legs back in to sit Indian style. The surprise and shock was no longer there in his face; it was immediately replaced by a look of gloominess. "What's the point? She's going to break up with me anyway so why bother?"

Seto stared at him for a moment, not sure he was hearing correctly. He looked at the blonde's face and examined it, trying to read what was behind those honey brown eyes of his. His own azure blue eyes narrowed, as he came to a conclusion and did the only thing he knew he had to do.

Actually, it was the only thing he _could _do.

Seto raised his left hand and smacked Jou on the head, hard.

* * *

-TBC-

EEK! I am SOOO SORRY! It took me.. how long to update this? Seven months? Wow, this is so horrible, I'm such a terrible author/procrastinator:(... I'm so sorry. I must have lost all my readers on this... gosh, that would be so sad if I did.. I hope I hadn't.. I hope you haven't given up on me!

But if you read this, that must mean you didn't so... thank you very much and I love you :)

Happy Thanksgiving.. again. You know you want to click the review button and say, "LRD, you're so freaking awesome and cool, I love you". Okay, maybe not, but maybe you should give me a comment anyways :

-lilrubydevil-


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